Freedom Finance broker review - tools, tariffs, reviews, minimum amount and requirements for participation in the IPO

About company

The investment is part of the international holding Freedom Holding Corp. For more than 10 years, it has been providing investment services on the Russian and American stock markets and organizing access to trading on the largest US exchanges, including the NYSE and NASDAQ.

In Russia, the company provides investors with access to the Moscow and St. Petersburg exchanges, and also provides brokerage services and trust management of securities.

General information:

• Official website - ffin.ru.
• Year of foundation: 2008.
• Head – Turlov Timur Ruslanovich.
• Availability of licenses to carry out brokerage, dealer, depository activities, as well as securities management activities.
• Head office address: Moscow, 1st Krasnogvardeisky proezd, 15, Mercury City Tower mixed-use complex, 18th floor.
• In total there are 43 physical offices across Russia.
• Contact number.
• Email
• He is a member of NAUFOR, as well as a member of the Moscow and St. Petersburg exchanges.
• Winner of the NAUFOR “Stock Market Elite” award.
• Operates in 7 countries: Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

In the Moscow Exchange ranking for January 2021, Freedom Finance LLC ranks 8th in terms of the number of registered clients and the number of active clients.

Brief history of the broker and awards

The broker Freedom Finance was founded in 2008. Initially, the main idea of ​​the company was to provide a wide range of investors from Russian jurisdiction, which was quite difficult at that time, with access to foreign trading platforms.

It was mainly focused on American trading platforms. In the process of formation and development, the number of exchanges available for trading was increased; the list included the London LSE and the domestic MICEX-RTS.

The Freedom24.ru project brought great fame to the company. This is an online resource that allows remote trading of securities in the most simplified form.

In 2013, the majority of Russian brokers used the Internet only for trading through a terminal, and a visit to the office was necessary to complete documents. Thus, the investment company became a pioneer in Russia in providing services of this type.

Tariff plans

As part of its brokerage services, the company offers rates for unqualified and qualified investors.

The company provides unqualified investors with access to the Moscow and St. Petersburg exchanges and the following tariff plans:

1. "Standard" . Suitable for infrequent transactions for those investors who prefer to act independently. There is no subscription fee. The commission is 0.12% of the transaction amount.
2. "Consulting" . Tariff for those who want to receive personal recommendations, learn investment ideas, but not transfer their money to trust management. There is no subscription fee here either. Commission – 0.5% of the transaction amount.
3. "All inclusive" . Designed for those who plan to actively participate in trading on the stock exchange. The subscription fee is 600 rubles per month. There is no commission for a transaction amount of up to 1.5 million rubles and equal to 0.04% for a transaction amount of more than 1.5 million rubles.

Qualified investors have access to the NYSE, Nasdaq and LSE exchanges at the following rates:

1. "Universal" . For investments of 5 million rubles or more. There is no subscription fee. The commission is 0.35% of the transaction amount.
2. "It's simple . Tariff with a subscription fee of 10 thousand rubles per month. There is no commission for a transaction amount of up to 1.5 million rubles. For a calendar month turnover of 1.5 to 2 million rubles – 0.04%.
3. "Agent " Appointed in agreement with the broker. There is no subscription fee. Commission – 0.3% of the transaction amount.
4. "Affiliate" . The conditions are the same as in the case of the “Agent” tariff. The commission amount is 0.2% of the transaction amount.

Information support

When providing services, the brokerage also provides its clients with educational and market data, which, if used correctly, can improve the effectiveness and convenience of trading.

All information can be divided into three main areas:

Other services and offers

In addition to brokerage services, Freedom Finance provides a number of other services:

• Trust management.
• IPO.
• Professional consulting.
• Online stock store.
• Issue and placement of securities.

Let's talk about each of them in more detail.

Individual trust management

This service is available only to qualified investors. Each client discusses his investment strategy, which takes into account personal wishes and attitude to risk.

For work, a trust management agreement is concluded with the placement of the Investment Declaration in the application.

When providing remote control services, the company relies on preserving capital and at the same time not missing out on market growth opportunities.

The Freedom Finance website presents several standard trust management strategies:

If we talk about the sectors of the economy that are preferred by company analysts today, these are high technology, healthcare, biotechnology, and cybersecurity.

IPO

With the help of the company, investors can take part in the initial public offering. Analysts provide a list of the most promising IPOs and give detailed descriptions.

Functionality of Freedom 24 personal account

Today, purchasing shares of large companies has become available to any citizen thanks to the emergence of specialized intermediary sites. Freedom 24 store appeared relatively recently, but has already received a good reputation. Through your personal account you can buy any security of a large corporation, be it Apple, Facebook, and so on. The catalog contains shares of domestic and foreign companies.

Since novice investors find it difficult to choose the right securities, the store has provided convenient tools. For example, next to each offer the growth potential is indicated, allowing you to estimate the possible profit. There are also experienced analysts who are ready to advise buyers free of charge. More than 110 thousand clients use Freedom 24 services, which confirms its stable position in the market.

Company products

Freedom Finance offers its own products to private investors.

Closed mutual fund "Initial placement fund"

A closed-end mutual fund allows investors to make money on IPOs of global companies. On the Moscow Exchange, closed mutual funds are traded in rubles, and on the St. Petersburg Exchange - in dollars.

The market price of the share as of the end of February 2021 is 3,152 rubles. Growth since launch – 373%.

Key points:

• All investors can participate – with or without qualified status.
• The selection of companies is carried out by experienced analysts at Freedom Finance.
• The share of each issuer in the fund does not exceed 10%.
• The allocation in each IPO is set at the upper limit relative to the submitted application.
• After 3 months, the shares are sold, and the freed money is invested in new placements. And in their absence - into foreign currency bonds and OFZs.

BPIF "Technology Leaders"

An exchange-traded mutual fund makes it possible to invest in American companies from the IT industry.

The market quote for one share as of the end of February is 1,991 rubles. Change in share value – 99%.

General information:

• Among all funds on the Russian market in 2021, the Technology Leaders BPIF took 1st place.
• The investor's investments work according to a previously known strategy, which is developed by the company's professional analysts.

additional services

How to open an account

Here is a short algorithm for opening an account with Freedom Finance:

1. On the main page of the site, you need to click the green “Become a client” button, which is located in the upper right corner of the screen.
2. Next, it is recommended to study all the information presented in the new window, including tariffs. And then click on “Open an account for free”.
3. Register: enter your email address, password and confirm your phone number by entering the code from SMS.
4. Then simply follow the instructions on the website.

In order to become a client of the company, you need to sign documents. This can be done in the office, or through a courier who will deliver the papers to your home.

Creating a personal account

Click the green "Register" button at the top of the page. Enter:

• Individual identification number;
• First name, last name;
• E-mail (will be your login);
• Password;
• Phone number.

Accept the user rules. Check the listed lines. Click the "Register" button. The company will send an email with a one-time link. Follow the prompts carefully to start using the system.

After creating your account, you will be able to buy shares of various companies. Payment is made by bank card. Through your account, you can monitor the status of your investment portfolio and conduct purchase and sale transactions of securities.

Reviews

There are many reviews on the Internet about working with Fried Finance, they are all traditionally different. I noticed a few negative comments:

• The terminal freezes, both its mobile version and the browser version.
• Slow response from technical support.
• Technical difficulties with input and output.
• Problems with the transfer of securities under repo transactions.

There are also positive reviews. Clients share the good work of consultants supporting beginners in trading.

In addition, many note the convenience of withdrawing earned funds from a brokerage account due to the presence of its own bank in the holding.

Software and mobile trading

Trading in Freedom Finance occurs by submitting orders by phone, in the office, and also through software.

Using a computer, you can make trades through the Quik trading terminal.

also has its own proprietary trading platform F-Trader, it is quite difficult to find a mention of it on the site, and in the tariffs section there is also no indication of any fee for using the system. Based on this, we can conclude that, unlike Quik (300 rubles per connection), F-Trader is provided free of charge.

On the website of the broker Freedom Finance you can also see a mention of the Netinvestor trading platform, but it was not possible to find a link to download it or at least a description. Perhaps this name refers to a Web trading platform.

Speaking about the web platform, it is worth noting that to trade through it there is no need to install anything; you can use it with an Internet connection and access to your Freedom Finance personal account on the website.

An interesting question is about the Freedom Finance mobile trading application. It is difficult to find any clear information about the trading platform for Android and IOS on the company’s website. However, there is such an application, it is called Dastrader (https://ffin.ru/instruction/).

Evaluating the reviews left for the program on the Play Market, we can come to the conclusion that a rating of 2.6 points indicates a clear “dampness” and inconvenience of working with the platform.

You can also find several applications from Freedom Finance on the Play Market. One of them is intended for trading on the Kazakhstan stock exchange, the other is assigned to the banking organization of the same name.

What does Freedom Finance offer to investors and traders?

The list of opportunities for cooperation with investors is quite extensive. According to reviews on the Internet, the choice of services of this broker is convenient for both private investors and traders .

In addition to standard brokerage services on exchanges ( Russian and foreign markets PCs ) and trading with a personal manager are offered

I suggest you familiarize yourself with the list of services that the investment firm provides for stock market and entrepreneurs:

Brokerage services:

• creating conditions for transactions with assets – both for private investors and active traders;
• mediation in the sale of assets on the stock exchange or their redemption by the broker himself;
• purchasing a block of shares according to predetermined parameters with the aim of acquiring the entire business for the client.

Depository service:

• opening an account;
• registration of ownership of securities ( accounting ), confirmation of these rights, transfer of them to another owner;
• consulting support for asset owners in exercising their rights to dividends , participation in voting at shareholder meetings, taxation in accordance with the law;
• providing information about the issuer;
• redemption of coupons, with the funds received being credited to client accounts.

Investment funds:

• management is carried out by experienced managers ( certified stock markets for at least 5 years ;
• development of an individual investment strategy based on standards predetermined by the investor ( with the agreement secured in the investment declaration ).

Underwriting (management of issue and distribution of shares):

• preparation for issue;
• initial placement;
• marketing support;
• consulting support for the issue of securities, their operational servicing.

Providing clients of Freedom Finance Investment Company with the following tools for working on the stock market:

• shares of Russian and foreign issuers;
• futures, options and other derivative assets;
• debt obligations ( government and corporate bonds );
• shares in funds;
• currency ( for trading on the MICEX-RTS currency exchange platform ).

Pros and cons of the company

The broker Freedom Finance leaves a mixed impression.

The advantages include the availability of the opportunity to invest in an IPO, small benefits when purchasing securities on credit from a card of the bank of the same name. You can also find the opinion on various forums online that the forecasts of the company’s experts are among the most accurate in the Russian brokerage services market.

I would like to add to the list of advantages the opportunity to invest in foreign assets, however, if you carefully study the site, you will notice that this opportunity is available only to persons with the status of “qualified investor”.

Therefore, for many clients, access to foreign trading platforms will be available only through the Freedom 24 stock store, while now there are already brokers where it is very easy to enter a foreign market.

At the same time, it is worth listing the main disadvantages of the company:

• Freedom Finance is not a major market player; its own funds in the authorized capital are 400 million rubles, which is much less than most leading brokers;
• the company's reliability has not been assessed by reputable global rating agencies;
• lack of a normal mobile trading platform;
• Quite high prices for withdrawing funds (if you add the broker’s commission to bank commissions);
• provision of a Quik terminal on a paid basis;
• outdated site.

Alternatives

Expert opinion

Anna Ovchinnikova

Private investor, entrepreneur and founder of the portal fonda.pro

Ask a Question

It is worth noting that in 2013, when Freedom Finance began to actively promote the service of simplified access to foreign trading platforms, this was extremely relevant. The service was unique in the market, and the concept of “Qualified Investor” did not exist.

Today the situation has changed radically, the company has worthy competitors.

Analytics and training

Like the Finam broker, Freedom Finance conducts an active educational campaign, using open and paid seminars, offline and online meetings. Please note that the site provides a separate opportunity to learn trading or portfolio investing. Many investors who are already working with the company note the deep analytics, but not always, when it comes to securities of American companies, it is accurate and complete. This is why traders and investors additionally get information from investing.com. The average monthly turnover is 3 billion rubles. The company has its own analytical department and many of the company’s traders are themselves speakers at various events.

Working with a broker

To start trading on the stock market through Freedom Finance, you must sign a client agreement (agreements for brokerage and depository services) at the company’s office. However, there is a simpler option - register on the “subsidiary” website of the broker Freedom 24 (formerly the “Stock Store”) and enter into agreements electronically (website: https://freedom24.ru/).

Registration on the official website

The official website (https://ffin.ru/) does not provide for a registration process (there are no links with the name “Registration”, as well as “Personal Account”), however, there are sections “Become a client” and a Web platform.

To register on Freedom 24, you need to go to the “Registration” section on the website of the same name, fill out and send the data: Last name, First name, e-mail, phone number, your own password.

Instructions for opening an account

As previously mentioned, opening an account is possible in one of the offices. To do this, you need to come with a passport and sign client agreements. An office employee will help you complete all documents correctly.

It is also possible to submit an application to sign client agreements with Fried Finance through the company’s website. To do this, you need to follow the link “Become a client”, fill in the fields “Last name”, “First name”, “Telephone” and “e-mail”. A bank employee will contact you and offer to sign documents in the office or send them for signing by courier service.

Demo account

It will not be possible to immediately find information about the opportunity to try trading without risk on the Freedom Finance website.

Implemented demo trading through proprietary F-Trader software. To download the terminal with demo access, you need to follow the link (https://ffin.ru/services/markets/soft.php), this page is located (oddly enough) in the “Foreign Markets” section, then “Trading Platforms”.

Account replenishment and withdrawal of funds

It is possible to deposit funds either through a cash desk at a bank office or by bank transfer. Withdrawing funds is the same. An interesting point is the possibility of purchasing company securities using a credit card from Freedom Finance Bank. In this case, upon purchase, customers will have access to a preferential bank overdraft.

Technical support

The issue of implementing technical support for clients in Freedom Finance remains open. Most brokers have a hotline number. This is a single number from which the client can call the company and, by calling the code word, solve the problem or leave a request for a transaction.

Freedom Finance Investment Company LLC does not have such a single number. There are 29 regional telephone numbers. It is difficult to say whether it is possible for a client from Moscow to get support if he is, for example, in Volgograd, what number to call.

The question of the quality of technical support also remains open; most likely, it is provided by Freedom Finance offices in different cities.

Complaints about the broker

Most of the negative reviews about Freedom Finance Investment Company LLC concern problems with withdrawal of funds, technical support and long execution of orders on the foreign market.

If we delve deeper into the problems of transferring funds from the Freedom Finance broker account to a bank account, it becomes clear that clients who encounter a problem still receive money after a while.

Recently, reviews have often appeared that they make cold calls, and operators persistently offer to invest.

One should not discount the fact that some of the reviews are most likely custom-made. The forums regularly ban users who have left several comments from the same IP regarding .